Pulmonary tuberculosis: Tuberculosis is a chronic

Tuberculosis is a chronic, progressive mycobacterial infection, often with an asymptomatic latent period following initial infection. Tuberculosis most commonly affects the lungs. Symptoms include productive cough, fever, weight loss, and malaise. Diagnosis is most often by sputum smear and culture and, when available, by nucleic acid amplification tests. Treatment is with multiple antimicrobial drugs given for at least 4 months. Tuberculosis (TB) is the world’s top infectious killer. Nearly 4500 people lose their lives and 30 000 people fall ill with TB each day. TB is contagious and airborne. It is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. TB is spread from person to person through the air. When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel TB germs into the air. A person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected.About one-quarter of the world's ... Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is a serious bacterial infection of the lungs. Symptoms include a persistent bad cough, chest pain, and breathlessness. TB can be life-threatening if a person does not ... Pulmonary tuberculosis is a form of tuberculosis that affects the lungs. It can cause a variety of respiratory symptoms and, if left untreated, can be fatal. TB is transmitted through airborne particles released when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. Although it primarily affects the lungs, TB can also affect other organs, a condition known as extrapulmonary tuberculosis.